Escaping the Sand
by Demon-of-Asgard
Summary: After being exiled from Asgard along with her father, Raven is summoned by Loki to serve him as the general of his army. Using her skills, she will try alongside him to reclaim her seat in Asgard and avenge the deaths of her mother and father. Through any crisis, she will stand. Rated T for safety. Reviews welcome. My first fic!
1. Chapter 1

I lie huddled in a tight ball, trying to protect myself from the howling winds that pull up sand from the nearby dunes. I am not built for this environment. My father had not been either. Since his and my exile from Asgard over 500 years ago, his life had been claimed by dehydration. He had given up fighting it. I held him in my arms as his last words slipped from him with his last breath:

"Promise me, child. Reclaim what is yours. My Raven…"

All I could say back was "Father, I swear it." He did not hear me.

My mother had been long destroyed by the time of his death. She was a demon, a guardian of death that cared for the people of Midgard after they passed away from their world. Once news of my birth had reached the ears of Odin All-father, her life force was torn apart forever. I saw it happen. I was helpless. But a life shared by a God and a demon was doomed to fail from the start, as Odin had said. But on that day I made a vow to avenge her, and I would do anything to fulfil that vow. And with my father's death, I had another reason.

But I have not yet found a way off the planet that serves as my prison. No one from any other realm visits me. But do not assume that means I have given up. I search night and day for anything that could help me in anyway. I am so far unsuccessful. But every night I say that I will not allow myself to fall into despair as my father had done. Raven, friend of darkness, does not give up.

The sand storm subsides, and I slowly uncurl and dust myself off. I turn to make my way back to the small cave I have made my home. But I stop. Staring into the distance, I see something new on the horizon; a bright beam of light, seemingly shooting down from the evening sky. I freeze, studying it intently. I have heard of these before. The light comes from the gateway in Asgard, and appears when someone wishes to travel from there to another world. Is this a blessing, or a curse? A new inhabitant, maybe. Or a hidden friend in Asgard, offering me an escape from this hell hole I've been trapped in these past years. I decide on the latter, and sprint for the light.


	2. Chapter 2

I discover that the beam coming down from the sky had created a huge crater where there once was a dune. As I slide down its side to investigate further, the light ceases almost a suddenly as it had started. In the centre of the newly made dish were what seem from afar to be several bundles of cloth, dyed a dark yellow. I decide to make nothing of it, and walk towards it some more. I stop however, when the bundles stand up, revealing long flowing robes, golden half helms and weapons. I know the attire. It is that of the guards of Asgard. Fear grips me hard, and I turn to flee from the crater. The guards unfortunately have already spotted me. They spread out behind me in a huge arc, and begin to run, closing in on me from all sides. But I am running too. Another advantage I have is that the guards have no power outside Asgard. I do.

I let loose a huge blast of purple energy from my fist into the guards behind me, knocking a few of them into the sand. But there are still others running. I spot a tower of red stone and leap behind it before putting my next tactic into action. Closing my eyes, I allow my soul to release itself from my body, and it flies up, into the first group of ravens it finds. The birds that bear my name have always been friends to me, and I can occupy their bodies almost as easily as I can my own. I can also reside in more than one of them, controlling whole flocks if I choose to. That is what I am doing now. I swoop down into the face of the closest guard, and scratch with sharp talons at his eyes. He beats me off, but cannot go further in the chase. My hundreds of eyes see the rest of the company advancing. I release the birds and sprint from my hiding place. I have but one trick left that may save me yet. I arrive back to the cave where I had been living in my years of imprisonment. The guards block off the entrance and my escape route.

"You have nowhere else to run, prisoner Raven," calls one of my pursuers. "Surrender now."

"Oh, you misunderstand," I reply, "for I am done running. But I will not yield to you, Asgardian!"

I retreat into the shadows, so the guards cannot see me. I stay there hidden, but the Asgardians think they see me try to run past them. They launch themselves at me, but as soon as their hands 'touch' my shoulders, I disappear. All they had focused on was a replication of me, not the real me. A common trick used by most demons of the Universe, it's surprising they did not anticipate it. I run for a gap in the line. I am so close to evading them, when a net of sorts is thrown over me, tangling in my limbs and pinning me to the ground. I try to throw it off by releasing a blast of energy, but nothing comes when I command it to.

"Your skills are of no use to you now, prisoner!" cries a voice, the speaker of which I cannot see. "This net is pure wound silver."

I should've been ready for this. Pure metals inhibit my power, meaning my tricks are useless if I am in contact with it. Of course they knew that, and I should've known they knew that. I let out a scream of frustration, and resort to struggling violently in an attempt to escape. All I succeed in doing is tying myself up further. I collapse to the ground, and allow the guards to drag me back to where they first arrived

"Wait!" I shout. I have no idea what I am trying to do by asking the guards anything, but I still proceed to do so. "Who is it you are taking me to? Odin?"

"Odin All-father has fallen into Odin sleep."

"So his son, Thor." Thor had been a young prince when I was first banished. Older than myself, but younger than my father or mother. He was heir, so if Odin could not rule, he would take his place.

"Thor was banished for disobeying the direct orders of Odin. Loki is on the throne."

"Loki…" I remembered him too. A thin, pale youth, with a piercing stare and high cheekbones, who stood behind his brother and father on the day of my exile.

"Yes," replies the guard. I note the distain in his voice. I could use this to my advantage. I had always been a talented talker, and I could lie more easily than I told the truth. At least, that is what my father had said to me. He had told me stories of those like me. From what he had said, I had gathered that Loki himself had the same skill in speech.

"You do not approve of Loki as a king?" I ask.

"No talking! Do not presume to twist my words, prisoner! Heimdall, open the gate!"

I start to answer, but the beam of light I saw before appears again in the sky, this time pulling us up with it. I am dragged up by the guards. I do not know where I am going, or what Loki plans to have done with me. But I am off the wretched planet that I was confined to. That was all that mattered to me.


	3. Chapter 3

The beam of light stops, and almost immediately the nausea kicks in. My head spins as I struggle to regain my bearings. When I do, I see that I am standing in what seems to be a hall of pure darkness, with nothing in it other than a small wooden chair.

"My king, we have the prisoner!" shouts one of the guards into the darkness.

"I can see that," replies a voice. It seems to echo all around the chamber, making it impossible to know where the voice is coming from. Suddenly, the guards begin half marching, half dragging me towards the chair in the centre, and the wound silver net is removed along the way. I am forced to sit, and they bind my hands.

"Leave us," says the voice.

I hear the guards retreat into the shadows, and after a cry of "Heimdall!" the beam shoots down and pulls the guards away. Leaving me alone, bound to a chair in a room with the king of Asgard. I am frightened, though I dare not show it.

"Where am I?" I venture.

"You and I stand in the abyss between worlds," replies the voice. "Specially built to conceal those who… do not wish to be seen."

"And why am I here?"

"I needed to discuss something with you, Raven."

"You know my name?"

"Of course." The voice is closer, and I hear traces of amusement in it. He is enjoying my discomfort.

"How?" I demand.

"Always questioning," he sniggers. His voice is closer still, a few paces behind me at most.

"Who are you?"

Suddenly he is close enough for me to feel his breath on the back of my neck as he whispers his reply.

"Do not try to fool me, girl! You know who I am as well as I know you!" And then there he is. Standing in front of me, resplendent in flowing green and gold robes, a staff taller than himself and a helmet with horns pointing high to the ceiling. I, in a ragged black and purple tunic, weather beaten and ripped, feel dwarfed by his presence.

"I am Loki of Asgard, king of all realms while Odin sleeps."

"But that does not explain why you need me," I say "I thought your father or the gatekeeper would have some way of stopping you from doing this."

He laughs. "Even the gatekeeper's eyes cannot penetrate this realm. As for Odin… he is not my father. He revealed to me before he fell into Odin sleep, that I am not his blood. I am Loki Laufeyson, not Odinson."

"Then we are more alike than I thought," I counter. "I am half Demon, you half Frost giant. Is that why you need my help? You need someone you can trust, and not many Asgardians I know would offer that."

He nods with a smirk on his face, and begins to wander slowly around the chair I am bound to. Neither of us speaks for a few minutes. Loki is the first to break the silence.

"You are right, of course. No Asgardian in their right mind would trust me. But, unless I am mistaken… you are no Asgardian. Not since you and your father's banishment. Am I correct, Raven?" He is. I still do not see why I am here though.

"My final question," I murmur. "Why am I here?" He is stood behind me again, and not being able to see him makes me even more anxious.

"Simple." That's all he says, before I hear the sound of a blade sliding from a sheath. I breathe in sharply. I hear him snigger again. I struggle in my bonds, but they do not come lose.

"You are here because…" I feel the cold metal of the blade on my wrists. And feel it slide through the bindings keeping me to the chair, "I needed to ask for your help."

I spring up from the chair, and fix my eyes to his, keeping my hands in position ready to fight if necessary. My face is stony. He is trying to keep himself from laughter.

"Suspicious girl, aren't you? Why do you fear me, I only wish to ask for your help?"

"I am suspicious for a reason, Loki. Unlike most others, I know why you are named Silver tongue!"

"I have heard you called the same," he replies slyly. We circle each other slowly, keeping the chair between us. I know that if it came to battle he would defeat me, but I would at least be able to inflict some damage. Never surrender if there is even a glimmer of hope, as my father used to say.

"You have the skill that would allow me to gain what I need!" Loki insists.

"What do you _need_ so badly?" I ask, trying to keep my voice level.

"I will explain when we return to Asgard."

"Ha! You forget, I am banned from Asgard, without express permission from the king!"

"I am the king now, and I give you that permission."

I stop dead. He offers me freely what I have been working towards getting from the start of my imprisonment, all because he needs my skills to achieve something.

"What must I do?" I enquire, hardly daring to breathe

"Swear fealty to me. That alone."

"I do not serve others. I do only what benefits me," I reply. I see the smirk slide from his face. He knows how to manipulate me, and I know how to manipulate him. "I will not stand behind you. However… I will stand beside you. Work with you as a partner. Only if I benefit will I serve."

"Then it is done. Kneel." I walk round the chair and drop to one knee before him. I say what is needed.

"I, Raven, swear fealty to Loki, king of Asgard. I swear to serve to the best of my abilities. I swear to remain loyal. And I swear to stand until he sees fit to release me from his service, or death sees fit to take me to its embrace."

"And I swear to give what should be given, reward what should be rewarded, and treat you as an equal and an ally. Rise, and I name you advisor and warrior."

I rise, and my eyes meet those belonging to my king.


End file.
